Jul 29, 2021
Note: This review is about the collected edition called Smallville Attacks, which collects all 11 issues of Superboy.
This book about Superboy dealing with secrets from Smallville's past, a hero from an dystopian future and his own personal problems isn't what you would call "riveting".
It starts off with Conner Kent being met by the Phantom Stranger, who warns him of things to come in his usual cryptic manner. Soon after, Conner's friend genius Simon Valentine (who doesn't show off his intellect all that much, unfortunately) reveals that he knows about the protagonist's other life. Superboy is forced to take on Parasite after being ambused by him. After defeating him, he is forced to work with Poison Ivy for a short while. This quick
ly leads him to discovering a silo wherein a man is attached to machine with foreign symbols etched into it and begin an adventure which doesn't mesh with the Boy of Steel very well.
Alongside all of this, the aforementioned time-travelling hero named Psionic Lad comes into the present day. His future is ruled by a man named the Prime Hunter and he "thought" his way through time (this isn't explained in the story) in order to ask Superboy to train him so that he can go back to the future and take down the Prime Hunter. The true reason he is here isn't to be trained, however, with the actual reason being a cliché that anyone can see coming from a mile away.
Parts of the narrative don't fit all that well. In the sixth issue (part of the Reign of Doomsday crossover), Connor is forced to take on Doomsday in Detroit while Simon goes to speak with Ray Palmer (the Atom), who is looking to recruit him for meta-science studies at his college. The inclusion of this issue fails to add anything of relevance to the story and mostly consists of Superboy getting beaten up by the monster that murdered Superman. The story would have flowed better had it been excluded from this collection.
Conner also has to deal with his feelings for his cousin Lori Luthor, Lex Luthor's niece. This part isn't resolved either and they end up as just being friends and not considering each other family. There's also his emotions regarding his recent break up with girlfriend, Wondergirl (who is only mentioned and not seen here). This part also does not receive any sort of closure to it as well.
The antagonist of the story wishes to rule the world by way of an army he commands. I won't go into anymore details regarding this as it will spoil the story, but it does end on a happy note. The villain himself is not well known and is a magic user and because of that, just seemed too bizarre to fit with the main character of the story. It felt forced and his motivation wasn't interesting because this has been done before.
The artwork featured isn't anything noteworthy, save for a dream sequence in issue seven. The sequence features a Superboy in a Smallville ravaged by him as he is hunted by his friends for killing their friends and loved ones. The artwork and colors fit well with the nightmare that Superboy was experiencing and was the standout sequence among the rest of the unremarkable artwork on display.
In conclusion, this book featuring the Boy of Steel isn't going to be recorded as one of his standout stories. The villain doesn't mesh with the protagonist, a plot twist regarding two characters is incredibly obvious, some characters are underutilized, part of the book doesn't fit with the rest of the narrative and Superboy feelings about his aforementioned relationships don't evolve or receive any closure. This isn't worth picking up. more
